• Immodesty, will not be covered, exposes the person, sings obscene songs
• Every muscle of the body twitches, from eyes to toes
• Intense sleeplessness of irritable, excitable persons from business embarrassments
• Suspicious of some plot, of being poisoned.

Source: Vegetable kingdom
Synonyms: Black henbane
Family: Solanaceae
Prover: Dr Hahnemann in 1805
Duration of Action: 6 to 14 days
Miasmatic Background: Psora
Temperament: Nervous, sanguine, hysterical and irritable
Thermal Relationship: Chilly patient

Introduction and History: Hyoscyamus is known since ancient times and was used as a house hold drug. The references about this drug are found in ‘Arabian Nights’ and also in Anglo-Saxon works on medicine. It is one of the most important remedies of the materia medica. It is a gift of the vegetable kingdom given to homeopathy.

It acts like a purgative, but in allopathy it is used as a ‘cerebral depressant’ in acute mania. The name Hyoscyamus is derived from the word ‘hyos’ meaning a hog and ‘cyamos’ meaning a bean, because the bean acts as an intoxicant upon Swines, but not on other animals. ‘Niger’ means black; the inner side of the flowers is purplish-black in colour. This drug is poisonous to fowls, hence its name – Henbane is very appropriate and correct. It is one of the Nash’s Trio of Delirium. The others are Belladonna and Stramonium. Hyoscyamus is very poisonous in its crude form.

Habit and Habitat: It is originally from Europe and Asia but is largely cultivated in North America. Also found in India from Kashmir to Garhwal in the Himalayas. It is a biennial deciduous plant growing to the height of 15 of 60 cms. It is covered with long, soft, pointed, white hair, with fusiform roots. It grows on waste ground, such as hedge banks and road sides.

Preparation and Parts Used: Mother tincture is prepared from the whole fresh plant of second years growth.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is adapted to light haired, sanguine people with a pale or bluish face; who are nervous, irritable and hysterical.

Ailments From: Unfortunate love, jealousy, rage, fright, fear, intestinal worms, puerperium.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Brain, nerves, blood, mucous membranes, skin, face, eyes, muscles, sensorium, etc.

Active Principles (Chemical Constituents): The principal alkaloid of this drug is hyoscyamine while traces of scopolamine, atropine and hyoscine are present in lesser amounts. It also contains an acid oil of hyoscyamus and potassium nitrate.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It acts upon the cerebrospinal system affecting particularly the sensorium, producing perversion of perception and intellectual faculties, illusion and hallucinations.
2. It acts upon nerve centres, irritates them and produces increased non-inflammatory cerebral activity, hysteria and delirium.
3. Acts upon the muscular system through the motor nerves, producing paralysis, spasmodic affections of single parts and convulsions.
4. Acts upon mucous membranes and irritates the same producing diarrhoea.
5. It acts upon skin and produces skin diseases.
6. Acts upon the head and face producing a sensation of fullness and heat of the head with a flushed face without pronounced hyperaemia.
7. It acts upon the brain causing a distinct mania, quarrelsomeness or obscene character and a hysteria.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Patient is very suspicious. Suspicious of some plot.
2. Patient is very fearful. Fear of being poisoned, refuses medicine, fear of being alone.
3. Dread of water. Desire to escape. Things seem too large.
4. Stupor, unconsciousness; does not reply to questions; does not recognise anyone, makes irrelevant answers.
5. Inability to think; thoughts cannot be directed or controlled; stupid.
6. illusions of imagination and senses. Sees people who are not and have not been present.
7. Thinks he is in the wrong place.
8. Delirium, talks of business; complains about imaginary things.
9. Delirium, tremors, with clonic spasms; aversion to light and company.
10. Loquacity, silly, smiling, laughs at everything, silly expression; cries and laughs alternately.
11. Lascivious mania, uncovers body, specially sexual parts.
12. Sings amorous songs; cries out suddenly, knows not why.
13. Muttering, picking at bed clothes, wants to go from one bed to another, restless, jumps out of bed, tries to run away.
14. Does foolish things, behaves like a mad person, abuses those about him and tries to injure them.
15. Patient is very jealous and suspicious; fear of being injured.
16. Low muttering delirium, continues even while awake.
17. Fright followed by convulsions, unfortunate love with rage and incoherent speech.
18. Vertigo with drunkenness; also from smell of flowers and gas.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Delirium: Low muttering type of delirium with occasional violent outbreaks.

Convulsions: Convulsions of children from fright or from irritation of intestinal worms. Suddenly becomes unconscious. Spasmodic affections of pregnant women.

Paralysis: Paralysis of urinary bladder, involuntary emission of urine, involuntary passing of stool.

Lascivious mania: Great lascivious mania; tendency to uncover the body, kicks off the clothes, exposes his or her private parts. Sings obscence songs, lies completely naked in bed.

Prostration: Great prostration and weakness in typhoid fever. Uncommon sinking of strength. Patient completely lies down in bed, the jaw drops.

Pain: Every muscle of the body twitches, from head to foot, constant state of erythism; tonic and clonic spasms.

Fear: Fear of being poisoned, fear of being alone, of being bitten, being sold. Suspects before eating or drinking.

Cough: Dry cough; spasmodic, when lying down, worse at night, after eating, drinking, talking and completely relieved by sitting up.

Sleeplessness: Patient is very irritable and excitable. There is intense sleeplessness due to embarrassment or imaginary things.

Fever: Typhoid fever is very rapid; pneumonia, scarlatina, staring eyes, sensorium clouded, picking at bed clothes, involuntary stool and urine.

Eyes: Dilated pupils, eyes sparkling and staring, teeth encrusted with brown mucous.

Face: Flushed and dark red, bloated and excited face, dryness of the mouth. Dry tongue loaded with a brownish coating.

Throat: Constriction of throat with inability to swallow, especially fluids and liquids.

Limbs: Extremities are cold, trembling and numb.

Thirst: Patient is thirsty, drinks very little water at a time.

Important Characteristic Features

Fever (typhoid): Hyoscyamus is very useful in typhoid fever. In the early stage of the disease, the delirium and later, symptoms of cerebral paralysis may call for Hyoscyamus. The delirium is furious or of low muttering type, with picking at the bed clothes. Later on there may be dropping of the lower jaw. The patient is very weak and debilitated with muscular twitchings as a prominent symptom. Involuntary stools and urine.

During fever, sensorium is clouded with staring eyes and grasping at flocks. Tongue is dry with a brown coating, cracked, paralysed; difficulty in speech. Breath is offensive and putrid; bad taste in the mouth.

Paralysis of bladder: Paralysis of urinary bladder after labour. Micturition frequent, scanty, difficult, involuntary; has no will to urinate, retention of urine.

Lascivious mania: Highest degree of lascivious mania. Patient wants to show his private parts to public. Kicks off the clothes, immodesty, patient becomes completely naked in bed and chatters. Sings obscene songs. Laughs at everything, silly expression and loquacity. Laughs and cries alternately, always talks about sex.

General Modalities

Aggravation: During menses, at night, from jealousy, unhappy love, mental affections, by lying down, from touch, cold air, etc.

Amelioration: By walking, stooping, from warmth, sitting and motion.

Remedy Relationships

Follows well: Phos, Nux-v, Op, Bell, Puls, Stram, Verat.

Antidotes: Chin, Bell, Stram, Cit-ac, Camph.

Antidotal to: Bell, Stram, Plb.

Compare: Stram, Phos, Lach, Bell.

Comparison

Belladonna: Violent delirium, fear of imaginary things, tries to escape, convulsions without consciousness, with cerebral congestion.

Stramonium: Hydrophobia, delirium, furious mania, convulsions with consciousness. Praying, beseeching

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 30, 200, 1000.

Dosage: Third dilution to 200c.

Repetition: Single dose is enough. No need of repetition unless required.

Therapeutic Value: Angina pectoris, Brain affections, Bronchitis, Chorea, Coma, Cough, Delirium, Diarrhoea, Epilepsy, Haemorrhage, Headache, Hydrophobia, Hysteria, Loss of speech, Mania, Meningitis, Nymphomania, Paralysis, Pneumonia, Typhoid fever, Urinary disorders.